Happy Valentine’s Day! I say it early because first thing Wednesday morning I am headed off to Uganda to work as a volunteer in a local elementary school near Kampala called Masooli School.
I do have muffins ready for the coming Mondays, of course, but other than those, this space will be pretty quiet for the next two weeks. I just wanted you all to know so you don’t worry. I hope to come back with some amazing stories and photos to share. I’ll be staying in a rondavel, which is a hut of sorts made out of local materials so I don't know about electricity but I definitely won't have internet.
The plan is for me to teach basic sewing skills and handicrafts as extracurricular activities and pitch in wherever needed during the school day. As I’ve told my friends and family on Facebook, our family is sponsoring two of the students for the second year now but this is my first opportunity to go and be of help in person. To those of you who have added your monetary support to ours, thank you again from the bottom of my heart. I will send you photos, I promise!
So without further ado, I give you these Black Forest-inspired muffins. Except they are missing kirsch because I think it’s nasty. Want to defend it? That’s what the comment section is for!
Ingredients
3 1/2 oz or 100g cherry intense dark chocolate bar (Or sub regular dark chocolate.)
2 cups or 250g flour
3/4 cup or 150g white sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup or just over 26g unsweetened cocoa powder (I used the special dark.)
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 egg
Scant 2/3 cup or 140g plain yogurt
1/2 cup or 120ml milk
1/2 cup or 120ml canola or other light oil
Method
Preheat your oven to 350°F or 180°C and prepare your 12-cup muffin tin by spraying with non-stick spray or lining with muffin papers.
Set aside 12 cherries for decoration and chop the rest. Chop up the chocolate into small chunks.
Combine your flour, cocoa powder, sugar, baking soda and salt in a large mixing bowl.
In another smaller bowl, whisk together your egg, yogurt, milk, oil and vanilla extract.
Add the chopped cherries into the wet ingredients and whisk again to separate the sticky pieces from each other.
Fold the wet ingredients into the dry ones and stop when it’s still quite dry looking.
Add the chocolate chunks. Stir until just mixed.
Divide your batter between the 12 muffin cups. Top each with one of the reserved cherries.
Bake for 20-25 minutes or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean.
Allow to cool for a few minutes in the pan and then remove to continue cooling on a wire rack.
Enjoy!
